Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College volleyball team continues to remain unbeaten in five setters this season after coming from behind to defeat Occidental College 25-12, 19-25, 18-25, 25-15, 15-4 on an emotional evening during Alyssa Sialaris Night.

Across the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams rallied together wearing Sialaris "No. 9" shirts, the color purple, and a wide array of headbands in honor of the fallen but not forgotten dual sport athlete.  Each match played last night also included a moment of silence to remember her legacy and what she brought both on and off the court.

As the starting outside hitter for the Poets, Alyssa was consistently ranked as one of the top three hitters in the country.  She was a two time All-SCIAC selection, and as a senior, she was named to the All-West Regional Team, was named an Honorable Mention All-American and as I found out last week was named to the SCIAC All-Academic Team. 

As a thrower on the track & field team, she was named the SCIAC Field Athlete of the Year after placing 1st in both the hammer and discus, and 2nd in the javelin and the shot put.  That same year she placed 5th in the country in the discus and received All-American honors as a junior.

In track & field Sialaris currently holds the school records for the hammer, javelin, and shot put, and on the volleyball court she currently holds the single season kills record with 444.     

During her time at Whittier she was named the SCIAC Athlete of the Week twice in both volleyball and track & field, was named the "Female Individual Sport Athlete of the Year" in 2012, and the "Female Team Sport Athlete of the Year" in 2013.   

After an emotional start to the evening, which included the family of Alyssa joining the team on the floor the Poets jumped out with passion in the first set jumping out in front and cruising to the easy 25-12 victory behind an astounding .429 hitting percentage.  But the Tigers didn't go away quietly, taking the next two sets putting the Purple & Gold in a 2-1 hole.

Coming out for the fourth set, the Whittier players rallied together coming from behind fighting, like Alyssa would have done collecting 13 kills as a team with just one error for a .250 hitting percentage forcing a fifth and deciding set.

Coming into the match, the Poets were 2-0 in five setters and after going down 1-0 early in the frame they went on a run jumping out in front 11-4 and never looked back finishing the match off on a 4-1 run behind a strong .381 percentage and a raucous crowd that helped move the Poets to a 6-6, 3-2 SCIAC record.

Alayna Rigo (Chino Hills, Calif.) who played with Alyssa for two years led the offensive unit finishing with 12 kills, while picking up 20 digs.  Freshman Rebecca Slattery (Mountain View, Calif.) was big up front especially in the fifth set finishing with eight kills on 25 attempts, while getting two solo blocks.

In the back row, senior Alyssa Acosta (Whittier, Calif.) who was fighting a cold again ran the defensive unit bumping her career high single game dig total to 48.  Adriana Moore (La Habra, Calif.) who also is pivotal in the back row along with Acosta finished with 20 digs.

Sophomore Torrey Mitsunaga (Culver City, Calif.) again led in the assist category finishing with 26 but in last night's game she also totaled a season high five aces and 12 digs.     

For Occidental, libero Madyson Cassidy finished with a game high 69 digs, while Dana Michels totaled 13 kills and 27 digs.

Whittier hits the road after their two game home stand and will travel to Washington D.C. to take part in the Gallaudet Tournament on Sept.27-28 where they will take on Mary Washington and Catholic.